Reality Leaks
by Mighty Dreamfinder
Summary: Stephen is no stranger to the ups and downs of protecting reality. When a leak in one woman's garage is the source of inter-dimensional activity, things get ... even stranger. (Oneshot.)


**Reality Leaks**

Protecting reality sometimes meant getting into unexpected situations. The fact was a lesson Stephen quickly learned on becoming master of the New York sanctum. Being able to discern threats that the world's most powerful technological instruments couldn't even trace meant he was required to act when the rest of the world failed to, and usually with little notice.

Sometimes the threats could take the form of a scheming Asgardian, or a dark lord lurking out of sight in a whole other realm. But sometimes it was the small things, the seemingly unimportant items or events that posed as potential threats.

From the moment Stephen detected a tear in the fabric of time and space interfering with normalcy as he knew it- the same eight seconds of time replayed itself over and over again, making it rather difficult to order a decent sandwich from his favorite deli- he shifted out of the anomaly using the precious stone he guarded at all times, and within moments had summoned his mystic arts attire, Cloak of Levitation included. He narrowed down the location of what could only be a torn inter-dimensional seam.

"Found you," the doctor smirked, watching the spell warp, revealing a location. Using his sling ring, Stephen churned open a portal.

Oddly enough, the view of the other side was blurred, not sharp and clear. Stephen stepped through, finding the blurriness cleared quickly enough, so his frown disappeared. It returned when he realized where he was.

Dull concrete floor and walls. Storage bins stacked up in the middle of a long, rectangular space. A washing machine and dryer against one wall, the other completely bare. Given the fact that there was a mess of outdoor supplies and bins gathered in the midst of the room and the bare wall had a plastic tarp hanging from it suggested the garage was under some sort of maintenance.

Stephen turned in a circle and eyed the gray, stuffy setting with confusion. "A garage," he stated slowly.

Of all the places for a rift in space and time. "Really?"

Cloak didn't even bother to offer him a silent shrug.

The door leading to the rest of the house swung open and Stephen braced himself. First, a black and white cat darted into view, meowing its arrival loudly. The cat was followed by a figure with red-brown, choppy hair in a pink sweatshirt hauling a full laundry basket. On spying Stephen, the young woman's eyes bulged. The laundry clattered to the floor and the cat retreated out of sight.

Stephen held up his gloved hands. The alarm on her face said a scream was certain, and his ears wished to avoid it. "No. No, please. Don't be scared."

The woman inhaled sharply. Stephen held a finger to his lips and hoped the universal _shh_ gestured would make contact. He winced. "Please, no."

She held her breath. Stephen tensed. They eyed each other, waiting for whoever would make a sound first.

Deciding the silence was as good a hesitation he was going to get from the home's occupant, Stephen let his arms drop to his sides in a cautious manner. "Look," he started carefully, gesturing to the tarp behind him. "I'm just here to fix this."

"What? The leak?"

"Ah. Is that what it is?" He glanced at the wall behind him.

"No one … can fix it … I'm sorry, _what_?"

He turned back to face the suspicious glare of the stranger who'd stumbled across him whilst he was in the act of stumbling into her garage.

She snatched a screwdriver from a shelf above the washing machine, but wasn't yet brandishing it as a weapon. Stephen briefly rolled his eyes and did his best to reign in his mounting impatience. He doubted she would truly try and harm him, but points for attempting to seem intimidating.

Her eyes lingered over his sorcerer apparel."What-What the heck are you _doing_ in here?"

"Trying to possibly save the world, if I'm right." He arched an eyebrow. "No one can fix it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The leak. You said no one can fix it."

She nodded, still glaring. "It's been there for … a few years."

"Years?" Now that was interesting. Stephen half turned towards the tarp, gesturing at it. "Do you mind if I … ?"

When he didn't get an answer other than more blatant staring at his clothes, he concentrated fully on the covered wall. One blink later had the tarp neatly folded on the floor, exposing concrete blocks, a puddle of moisture growing beneath it. A small door, likely the crawlspace, met the floor.

The woman jumped. "What- what did you do? Wait …"

She stepped forward, then scampered back, looking from him to the folded tarp, panic growing in her face. "No way." The screwdriver began to wobble toward him. "Look, you need to … You need to leave, buddy. Now."

Stephen let out a short sigh and wrestled with an unimpressed groan. Empathy was something he knew he often lacked, and after a generous amount of training and time spent in the mystic arts he could barely recall what it was like to have ever felt shocked or frightened at the things he'd never thought possible. The mystic arts were second nature now, but to the rest of civilization … It wasn't really that surprising, this person's reaction. Understandable as it may be, it did nothing to promote progress.

The screwdriver was brandished his way. "Right now!"

Stephen turned around fully, frowning before he spoke. "Do you know who the Avengers are?"

"Ha … !" She sent him a look that clearly suggested he was crazy. Everyone knew who they were.

Stephen decided there was no point in concealing the truth of his abilities. He lifted a hand, palm-side up and a miniature Earth the size of an apple glowed into existence. "_Look_. Observe if you can. I want the same as they do, and that's to protect our world. Well," he tilted his head, forming a rippling barrier around the tiny planet. "Reality, more like. I handle the things most people can't see."

His single audience moaned. "Oh_, gosh_."

Her arms lowered, face paling to the point his doctor's brain started to bet she could be sick at any moment. Poor Christine looked at him like that when he dragged her into his mess in the hospital.

The woman pressed a hand to her forehead, running it through already messy hair. "Is this really happening?"

He clicked his tongue. "Not to be rude or anything, but I really need to get to work. You're obviously not going to call the police, so if you could just … maybe sit down? Those steps behind you would work."

He turned back to the wall, but of course she wasn't done with her shock.

"What makes you think I'm _not _going to call the police?"

Stephen rounded back to her, hoping his expression at least held a bit of patience. "You haven't so far. You can, if it helps." Not like he couldn't re-direct a couple of police cars, but she didn't need to know that. No matter what she chose to do, he wasn't about to leave until dealing with the torn seam in reality was resolved.

She glowered. It was meant to be intimidating, but he could tell it was all show.

The sorcerer straightened, taking a deep breath. "Look, miss … ? I promise you I'm only here to fix the leak. Yes, it's that important, and once that's done you'll never see me again. I'll be gone."

The young woman pressed her lips together. After a long, debating silence, she finally spoke. "Penny."

"Penny." Stephen offered his hand. He was almost relieved when they shook hands, finally getting somewhere. "I'm Doctor Stephen Strange."

Confusion stole over her face. "Really?"

"Really."

He smiled quickly and whirled back to the wall, hands shifting, coaxing his skills to help him determine where the leak exactly was. His signature orange spells sparked in the air, pinpointing the leak a few feet from the other side of the crawlspace door. "Ah, found you."

Penny shuffled somewhere in the background, taking heavy breaths.

"Mystic arts," was all Stephen bothered to offer at her confused voice trying to put together a question. "And there's going to be a lot of that, so if you want to watch you'll have to get used to it." The doctor smirked faintly. "Sorry for the fuss."

* * *

Okay, so maybe there wasn't quite as much magic involved as he'd thought there would be.

There was some sort of effect surrounding the torn fabric of reality behind the wall, one that made opening a simple portal to the leak's specific location a tough challenge. Stephen shrugged out from underneath Cloak and got down on his hands and knees in order to get a look for himself at what was going on behind the crawlspace door, as his spell had directed him.

Half-poked inside the wall, he heard Penny approach from behind.

"So … what's going on with this leak? Why's it so important that someone like ..." She faltered for the right word. "I don't know, whatever you are, has to come out and get a look at it? It's just a leak."

"No, it's not."

He backed out with a small grunt, finding the crawlspace awfully cramped. He sat back and looked up. The Cloak of Levitation hung upright in midair, its usual position when he wasn't wearing it. Penny stood next to it, eyeing the suspended red cape thoughtfully.

"Well, yes," he continued, lifting a hand to wave briefly. "It_ is_ a leak, but it's wrapped up with a tear in the fabric of time and space. It's a rare occurrence, but they do happen."

"What happens if it's just left alone?"

Stephen grimaced and sighed, the answer rather obvious for him. "Plenty. The world slowly collapses, for one. Time loops spring up. Creatures invade from other dimensions."

Penny raised a brow. "What do you mean, 'creatures'?"

"You know …" His gaze shifted up to meet hers and he allowed himself a moment of mystery by smirking. "Monsters."

Penny's face clouded. She put her hands on her hips and glared at the crawlspace. "Then what do we do?"

"You do nothing. People like me usually take care of these things right under your nose."

"How's that working out?"

Stephen scowled. "Complicated. The leak is messing around with how things normally would work. It's giving my skills a run for their money." He narrowed his eyes at the dark hole. "I'll have to unravel the rift from the leak."

Penny bent down and peered into the dark hole. "Do you want a flashlight?"

Stephen blinked at the offered assistance and frowned. " … can I ask you something?"

Penny nodded.

"Why _didn't _you call the cops?" He tipped his head. "You know, like any 'normal' person would have."

Penny pointedly glanced him up and down before meeting his gaze. For a moment she looked ready to say something and changed her mind. She straightened upright before shrugging. "Well, you don't … you don't exactly look like the right kind of person who'd break into houses with criminal intention."

He had to smirk a little at that, despite feeling like that wasn't the full answer. The confusion his sorcerer's presence could bring into a public space had its benefits from time to time. "It's the outfit, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that." Penny snickered. She turned thoughtful again. "And also … as freaky as it is, I've never seen real magic before."

Curiosity, yet another lifesaver at times.

Stephen and the Cloak exchanged glances before he returned his attention to the crawlspace and inched forward on hands and knees again. "Well, keep your distance for now, at least until I set things right. Before I go, I can show you exactly how I arrived. If that sort of thing doesn't make you faint." It was the least he could do, scaring her out of her wits and invading private property. He was thankful enough she was cooperating, even offering her help.

" … go ahead and give me that flashlight."

He held his arm out behind him. As soon as he felt the flashlight against his palm he brought it into the damp darkness.

A little while later and he was huffing, the air hot and unhelpful. The unraveling of the the rift from the leak was a lot harder in such a tight space.

"Doctor Strange?"

"Mhm." He could see the leak. It looked so normal, but he knew better.

"Why did you bring up the Avengers of all things?"

Groaning, Stephen shuffled around, tapping the flashlight when it started to dim out. He summoned a spell. It flickered and fizzled after a moment. Stephen narrowed his eyes and strained, fighting against the resistance the rift was giving his power. He felt like tearing the tiny space apart at how long this was taking.

Finally, Stephen shimmied his way back out and settled for staying seated on the floor, panting softly. He ran a hand through his hair, sweat beading down the sides of his neck. He muttered a curse.

"Sorry. What? The Avengers. Them." He rolled his eyes. "They're not qualified or capable of saving the world in this particular manner, but I wasn't wrong when I said we want the same thing."

The silence made him look up. An odd frown had over taken Penny's features as she stared him down. "What do you mean?"

"They protect the world from physical threats, and people like me protect reality from the supernatural ones," he explained, not bothering to hide his impatience this time. "You know the battle of New York?"

She just stared at him. He wasn't sure whether to feel confused or disappointed; he thought he was doing an exceptional job explaining things. He shook his head.

"You think it's-" Penny cut herself off. Now she was the one shaking her head. "You know what? Let me go grab you some water." She turned on her heel and headed for the door, murmuring to herself.

Once she was gone, Stephen drummed his fingers on the floor. "Odd."

Something was off about the exchange they'd just had, and it wasn't his supernatural senses alerting him. It was gut intuition.

"I'll be able to think a lot more clearly when I get this rift unraveled from solid matter."

Stephen started to duck back into the crawlspace when he thought of changing tactics. Soon he was manipulating a solidifying spell, forcing it over the leak and the protesting energy that surrounded it. If he could get the spell to work long enough for him to physically move the tear in space and time, then without the leak it would likely be easier to fix.

Despite his concentration, his gut twisted. The work before him didn't worry him. His skill was strong enough to take on the unusual challenge, but his mind wouldn't let go of his conversation with Penny. Something in it was out of joint, he knew it. Something about the way she asked about-

_Wait a minute._

The portal had been blurry, not clear.

Penny acted strange when he spoke of the Avengers. As if she didn't fully believe him.

Like he were talking about things that didn't exist.

"Ohh, so it's one of _those_ tears," he realized, right before the solidifying spell worked.

A white gash appeared over the wet foundation- the rift. Stephen shifted it with his magic and dragged the rift out from the crawlspace with slow, careful movements. He stood to his feet, the Cloak returning to rest on his shoulders while he kept his eyes on the tear between realities.

"Gotcha."

He didn't see the black and white tail until his foot stepped on it. A cat's yowl filled his ears, and the rift slipped from his grasp. It swung across the garage, fleeing along the wall. Stephen ignored the cat running off to the open crawlspace, and orange energy sparked around his hands, the magic reaching out to seize the runaway tear between realities.

The tear froze in front of the door. Stephen smirked in victory.

The door swung open.

He charged forward. "Wait-!"

* * *

Stephen blinked. His limbs were stiff and still braced for impact, one arm raised. He was staring down a long, pristine hallway lined with identical doors. The familiar smell of strong disinfectant hung in the air. A hospital corridor.

A few feet in front of him was a nurse wheeling a patient. They were both still as stone.

Sometimes, though he didn't like to admit it, he couldn't be prepared for everything, Sorcerer Supreme or not. But he could try his best.

Stephen glanced down. The soft green glow emitting from the amulet greeted him, as planned, but the hospital was an unexpected location.

"Penny?"

He checked a few of the closer rooms, but the woman was nowhere. The doctor frowned, running through the possibilities in his head.

"She collided with it," he reasoned, frown darkening. His plan to stop time and keep _that_ from happening had only worked part way. Now to locate Penny …

And that blasted tear in the fabric of not one, but _two_ realities.

Maneuvering through a hospital full of people frozen in time wasn't much of a challenge. He found this particular hospital looked rather drab, cosmetically, and someone else must have thought the same if the construction tarp set up down one hall meant anything. He passed by several patient's rooms.

A small gasp made him pause and backtrack his steps. Stephen peered into the room he'd passed.

A child's voice gushed in a whisper, "Oh my _gosh_."

A frozen nurse and an older, gray haired woman stood on either side of a hospital bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed in a way that suggested she was attempting to scoot down to the floor, was a young girl. She couldn't have been over six or seven years old, wore a hospital gown, and had long, tousled red-brown hair. At the sight of the oddly dressed man standing in the doorway, her eyes lit up.

"You're real … I knew it!"

Stephen's brow knitted. Caution kept him from forming an answer, his mind racing over the last few minutes.

What had he missed? How was one child left unaffected by the stop he'd placed on time?

"Can I see your portals, Doctor Strange?"

Stephen regarded the child with one half of his attention span, the other part reviewing the time magic encrusted around his arms.

"I … Sorry, no. Not now." Eyes narrowing, he pointed at her. "Who are you?"

The child didn't seem to pick up his uncertainty and was obliged to tell him. "I'm Penelope."

"Penelope …"

"And I broke my arm. Look." She lifted her left arm, wrapped in bandages.

"Oh, that's easily fixed- hang on. _Penelope._" He blinked, an idea striking.

Stephen tilted his head. "You wouldn't happen to go by 'Penny', would you?"

Despite the calmness in the question he'd voiced, his mind was on fire, connecting the dots. It would make sense, why she wasn't affected by the stop on time, why he was in a random hospital all of a sudden …

"Uh huh. But …" Her brightness faded a little. "My gran says I gotta say my full name when I meet people." She twisted around to stare at her motionless grandmother.

"Oh, so _you're_ Penny."

Stephen clapped his gloved hands together and glanced around the room, nodding and musing to himself. "Sooo … somewhere in your timeline, then."

Penelope slid down to the floor and stared at him with large, earnest eyes. "Are you here to stop a bad guy?"

"Not at the moment."

"Why are you here?"

"Well, a woman opened a door and walked straight into a rift between time and space, including two realities. And things sort of … shifted all over the place." That was really the only way to explain the phenomenon, whether the child understood or not.

Stephen shrugged. "Shift happens." He smirked at his own comment.

Penelope, having no idea the sorcerer she clearly recognized before her had just come from meeting her older, adult version, pointed out the two frozen people in the little room. When she spoke her voice wasn't worried, but curious. "How come they're not moving?"

"Because they aren't important."

The moment he'd said the words, realization crept in. " … which makes you and me, very important," Stephen continued, walking closer and surveying the hospital room with more scrutiny. The child copied him, scanning the room with a little less care.

Stephen paused beside her. "Tell me, have you seen or heard anything strange happening in the hospital?"

The little girl's head tipped. "Like what?"

A scraping sound from outside the room pulled their attention to the hall.

Stephen's eyes locked on the door. "Anything at all, Penelope," he coaxed. "Did the nurses say anything? Are they worried?"

"Um, Nurse Amber said there's something going on downstairs."

Penelope eased a little closer to the sorcerer, a wary frown on her young face as she stared at the door. "She said … something's leaking."

Stephen rolled his eyes, mumbling, "Of course there is."

The sorcerer exited the room in slow, determined steps. Once he stood in the hall, facing the direction of the noise, he said, "We might be in trouble, I'm afraid. Can you be good and listen to me, Penelope? And not walk into rifts while you're at it?"

The child followed him out into the hall, her wide eyes fastened on him. "What's wrong?"

"Remember when- no, sorry. I should be used to this by now."

Turning to her, he attempted to explain as calmly, but seriously as was possible. "There's certain monsters, beings from other dimensions. Some of them we never see because they're stuck where they are, but when there's a rift, or an opening in time and space-"

"Like Dormammu?"

Stephen faltered. He had to remind himself in this universe he was most likely fiction. The fact a seven year old seemed to know about that dark lord caught him off guard. He quickly recovered and nodded. "Yes, something like that. They can come through when there's an opening."

"The leak?"

He didn't even bother not to growl. "Yes. Probably that's where it is."

A scraping sound carried down the hall as a shape materialized into view, crawling across the floor. Its dull, almost transparent body was long, pale brown and snake-like, but had gripping claws that scraped against the clean floors. The head wasn't really a full head, but a toothless mouth that split open like a Venus flytrap. It's only purpose was to devour.

Penelope whimpered. "Is that a snake? Or a dragon?"

"Neither," Stephen replied, bristling. "It's a parasite."

"Can you stop it?"

He grimaced. "They can phase between being physical or not. Killing them isn't … simple."

Stephen held his ground while the child ducked behind his cloak. "What's it want?"

"Anomalies to feed from. Which would be, well … us."

That said, he summoned his shields and shoved, an invisible force of energy traveling down the hall and slamming into the parasite. It hissed and clawed in protest, unprepared for the attack.

The sorcerer opened a spinning portal and pushed Penelope, hastily guiding her through. The child had gone dumbstruck more at the sight of the portal than the dangerous parasite in the hall.

"Run," Stephen ordered, still pushing until he was sure the child was out of her stupor. "Head for downstairs, Penny. If we find the leak, I can stop it and fix all of this. Just stay ahead of me, no matter what."

She sprinted ahead of him, her youthful voice mirroring the urgency in his own, "Okay!"

Stephen scanned their front and checked behind several times. The parasite wouldn't stay behind for very long.

"What about this?"

Up ahead, Penny slid to a stop in front of some elevators and turned to show him, when something slipped around his boot and jerked.

Stephen crashed to the floor but the Cloak responded, spinning him around and upright in one fluid motion. The parasite's tail was coiled around his ankle, then the head was in his face, mouth open. The sight of its never-ending throat could have taken anyone off guard. Stephen knocked it away with his elbow, but the thing wrapped around behind him, pinning down his arm.

Behind him, he could hear Penelope's quivering voice. "Don't let it eat you, Doctor Strange! Don't let it eat you!"

"_Hrngh_-" Stephen staggered and gagged. The parasite had wound its body around his neck and began squeezing. Even the Cloak was tensing and rippling at the threat to its master, but to no avail. Too easily, Stephen's head clouded as his oxygen was cut off.

He collapsed against the wall.

Penelope screamed.

* * *

"Doctor Strange?"

Horror kept Penelope frozen by the elevator, pressing her back against the doors and staring at the superhero crumpled against the wall. Her mouth hung open. He wasn't supposed to die. He was supposed to win all the fights and save the universe. That's what he did in the movie. That's what they always did.

"Get-Get up … please get up …"

The long parasite uncoiled itself from Doctor Strange's body and swung its head in her direction for a few moments before turning back to the superhero.

Its mouth split open.

Penelope turned away, shutting her eyes.

The monster started gagging. The little girl opened her eyes in time to see the monster suddenly fall against the floor, limp as a noodle. One of the lights flickered down the hall.

Doctor Strange appeared, hovering like a ghost over his own body. He glared down the hall, then at the prone parasite on the floor. Penelope gasped, relief filling her with hope. The superhero wasn't dead, of course not.

He held up his hands. "Don't be scared-"

"It's just like the movie!"

" … Right." He frowned a little, then shook his head. "Look, Penny, this is important. You're going to have to help me."

She hurried forward before slamming on the brakes, staring at the parasite strewn across the floor.

Doctor Strange waved a hand. His voice had the same tone she heard in her father when he was acting like everything was fine but something still made him nervous.

"Oh, he's not going to hurt you. I've got him in here, with me."

"Like the movie," she murmured in realization. "When you turned into a ghost."

"Yes, just like that. But I can't come back just yet. I'll handle the monster, and you have to get me-" Doctor Strange pointed out his physical body, and it lifted off the floor, the Cloak suspending his unconscious self upright. "... to wherever the leak is. Avoid the elevators. Find it for me, okay?"

"I don't know where it is." Penelope's brow furrowed. "I don't wanna be alone."

The ghost raised his eyebrows. "What are you talking about? You've got Cloak."

The extravagant red cape rippled, the edge of the Cloak even raising and waving at her. Penelope brightened a little and waved back.

Doctor Strange's ghost cried out as he was pulled backwards, vanishing fully.

Penelope held her breath and hunched her shoulders, but nothing else happened. With no other instructions, she took a big breath and nodded, turning to address the Cloak.

"Okay. Let's, um … go this way." She pointed down the rest of the hall and the Cloak's collar bobbed in agreement. Delight shot through her.

Penelope led the way at a careful pace, Cloak levitating Doctor Strange's prone figure dutifully behind her like a silent game of follow the leader. The eerie stillness of the rest of the hospital, and not knowing where Doctor Strange really was as he fought the monster, sent shivers down the girl's spine. She made a point to keep checking behind them for any monsters, or ghost monsters.

After a few long, unnerving minutes, Penelope paused and looked back at the floating, unconscious sorcerer. She hesitated, then took one of his hands in hers.

Feeling better, Penelope moved onward with her mission.

* * *

The parasite was _not_ a happy camper being separated from its body.

Granted, time parasites such as this one had the ability to shift through all kinds of dimensions thanks to the presence of the rift, so it could return as easily as Stephen could. That was where the real challenge came in.

Yelling, Stephen's astral form was flung down the hall he'd previously fought in physically. The parasite's astral form flew for its own body, only for Stephen to intercept and snatch its tail, pulling it back and slamming it partly through the wall. Bracing against the wall, Stephen pushed off, leading the monster's spirit further away from its body on the floor.

He shoved them through a series of walls to continue moving the astral version of the monster as far away as possible and they somersaulted into another hallway. Stephen caught of a glimpse of Penelope cautiously leading his cloaked figure down the hall, then he was back to punching the parasite in his grip.

The little girl had found the stairwell and was pushing the door open, her tiny frame making it a slow process. And she had to avoid using her injured arm.

The parasite in his grip whipped him head over heels, sending him through the very door the child was struggling against. The door flung wide open in response. Penelope squeaked and jumped away. She hastily retrieved the physical sorcerer's hand and pulled him inside.

Meanwhile, Stephen's astral form shot upright and floated back out into the hallway.

The parasite, now back to its physical self, was racing for the stairwell. Stephen motioned with his arms and pushed forward right as the monster would have passed through him, promptly shoving its spirit out of body. Again.

"I'm right here," the astral sorcerer growled. "Attacking them won't do you any good. You're not getting past me as long as I'm here."

* * *

Moving down the dull stairwell, Penelope winced as the lights flickered and the railing rattled. Knowing when Doctor Strange fought as a ghost in the movie did similar stuff to the rest of the world, she tried her best not to be too worried. But on this side of things, it seemed more haunting than fun to watch.

"Is-Is he okay?" she asked, looking back up at the Cloak and the motionless sorcerer.

The edge of the red cape gestured first to the man it carried, then upward in a silent question.

"Umm, both of them?"

Cloak's collar shifted around slightly, but she wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. Maybe a nod.

Penelope continued leading them until they came to the very bottom. They were met with a wide hall with an elevator inside one wall. A big, cold and heavy door with a window sealed them off from the full basement of the building. A sign nearby had a word that started with _M_ on it that Penelope couldn't figure out. Pressing against it with one hand, the door ended up being far heavier than usual.

Penelope stood on her toes to look through the window.

There was a huge, dim room with tall, metal storage cabinets and slab-like tables sitting in the dark. Water had gathered in a puddle just on the other side of the door.

The leak.

"Found it! The leak's right there."

The Cloak's edges lifted in a thumbs-up.

"He's gotta stop the leak and that'll stop the monster."

Penelope grinned and went back to looking through the window at the apparent source of their problems. The moments turned into minutes.

She finally sighed and turned around to eye the Cloak in worried impatience. "Doctor Strange is still fighting, huh?"

The seven year old frowned and studied the floating man. She looked at the space overhead, wondering where he really was, wondering if he needed help … Penelope swung her gaze back onto the door, eyes widening. Maybe, just maybe, they could help him after all.

* * *

He was _eating_ his words.

Colors and faded matter whizzed all around, threatening to tear his sanity from him. Stephen dug his astral fingernails into the astral parasite's tail, a scream ripping from his throat. The monster he clung to whipped about, trying to dislodge him, leave him behind, but the thought of being stranded in astral form in another dimension only spurred Stephen's determination even more. His grip tightened with every second.

Finally, the frenzied dimension-traveling halted and he recognized the hospital; he let go, utterly dazed from the staggering glimpses of the dimensions most humans never saw, yet he'd torn through like a bullet. The parasite clawed its way through the air, in search of its body.

Stephen shook his head, trying to rear his mind back to focus even as his astral body hung suspended in the air, sideways. It was a humbling realization, that despite being the new Sorcerer Supreme, he still found himself left in a trance even long after the Ancient One ever showed him there was more than he could see in existence.

He could meditate on it all later; there was a monster to stop.

Firstly, reunite with his body.

The moment his spirit merged with his body, Stephen threw back his head, gasping and coughing. All his physical self remembered was being choked last he'd been present. His mind quickly caught up, however, and the sorcerer narrowed his eyes in confusion. He lay flat on his back on an examination table in the morgue of all places. Sitting up, Stephen's eyes swept over his body, quickly noticing he was missing a very important article.

The Cloak of Levitation.

As soon as his concern flared, the Cloak itself came rushing into the morgue like a flying red ghost. It had one edge curled over something Stephen couldn't tell, carrying it over to a small form kneeling in front of the nearby wall.

Groaning, Stephen pulled himself to his feet, wincing at the throbbing pain surrounding his neck. "Penny?"

"You woke up!" the girl cried, her head spinning toward him to show him a bright little smile.

He narrowed his gaze. "Who's idea was it to put me on that table?"

"Cloak did it. He thought you needed rest … I think."

"Really?"

The Cloak turned in his direction, passed its cargo over to Penelope, then levitated over to rest on his shoulders.

Stephen blinked. Penelope was holding a roll of duct tape.

He look past her at the wall, where a steady, if small flow of water trickled out from a crack. Then his gaze returned to the duct tape in Penelope's hand.

A sore laugh escaped him. He shook his head. "That's not going to do much good, I'm afraid. Points for trying."

"You weren't awake, so I thought I'd help. Cloak helped, too."

Penelope fumbled with the roll in her hands but couldn't seem to peel off the tape while favoring her better hand and arm. She held it out to him.

The sorcerer huffed a quick sigh and snatched up the roll, if only to amuse the child. Inwardly, he was already determining what to do next, and to do it fast. The parasite would find them, but he now knew where the rift was located. Outright defeating the creature was almost impossible, as the parasite could shift through a physical attack. If he had time to seal the rift, the parasite would be cut off from its home dimension and wither away. Then he could return to the right time with the rift, then return once more to his own dimension and seal it, leaving everything as it should be.

"Here."

He held out the piece of thick, gray tape, and watched in faint amusement as the girl hurriedly slapped it over the crack. She flashed him a triumphant grin. "Done!"

"Good job. But I … hate to tell you this-"

Stephen went silent at the sound of something crashing out in the stairwell made him turn, poised for an attack. When nothing came, he stepped over to the stairwell door and saw the back end of the parasite laying across the stairs. Its body stayed solid as it seemed to struggle to move.

Stephen backed away, dumbstruck.

He looked at the duct taped wall, a child's solution to a messy, multi-dimension problem, and the innocent, worried little face staring up at him.

"Maybe it is working," he admitted, summoning a pair of smaller, orange shields.

Penelope raised her head. "What do I do?"

"Stay here, and keep plugging the leak."

Her young face turned solemn. "Is the snake monster out there?"

"Yes."

"Are you gonna stop it?"

"Yes."

He sprang for the stairwell.

The door went flying open and he attacked the weakened parasite head on. It lurched away, flickering in and out of solidity, but received plenty of damage. All at once the flickering came to an end and the parasite phased right through the attacks and dove through the door. Shouting, Stephen threw out a shield and it ran head-first against it, solid once more.

Penelope cringed by the wall, watching every move.

"Don't take your hand off that wall!"

Stephen flew up to the writhing parasite and landed, frowning. There was a certain way to defeat the monster, but it was far from pretty.

He ground his jaw. "Don't let her watch," the sorcerer murmured. The Cloak left him and suspended itself between Penelope and the rest of the morgue, hiding her behind a curtain of red.

Stephen turned his attention back to the parasite a moment too late, and it was phasing right through him. It twisted in the air and he pinwheeled his arms, dancing backwards and anticipating what the monster was trying to do again. This time, when it returned solid, his hand was there to defend his neck. He ripped it from the air and threw it against the wall, the long creature bouncing a moment and making weak hissing sounds. Stephen quickly conjured a spell, pillars of destructive, blinding energy piercing through the monster. He didn't cease the attack for several seconds, in case the creature began to phase in and out.

Finally, the energy ceased. The parasite's body lay, blackened and mostly ash. The sorcerer had to raise an eyebrow, noting something new.

"Then they don't have skeletons," he mused, looking over the fried-to-oblivion time parasite.

A tiny voice called out, "Doctor Strange?"

"One moment." He summoned a portal, dumping the leftovers somewhere he could retrieve them for extra study in the future. "Okay."

A small hand swept the Cloak aside. Penelope's wide eyes immediately scanned the morgue for the monster. Cloak returned once again to hanging off Stephen's shoulders as the man made a beeline for the wall with the scrap of duct tape. Straining at the effort, in moments he had pulled the rift from whatever waterline or pipe it had attached to, then solidified the rift with far more force than he'd used in the garage, sending small waves of shuddering energy through the base of the building.

"There," Stephen sighed roughly, holding his hand up and admiring the pale, glowing gash suspended above his fingertips.

Penelope inched closer, eyes wider still. "Can I … touch it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever practiced in the mystic arts?"

The little girl shook her head, her hopeful gaze turning to him.

Stephen sighed. "Look-" he said, crouching down so the girl could view the rift at her own eye level, "-but don't touch. Got it?"

Penelope nodded eagerly and was soon lost in staring dumbly at the pesky thing that had thrown a wrench in both their times and realities. Blissfully unaware of all that, the sheer wonder on the girl's face was almost enough to make up for the last half hour of mind-bending chaos. Almost.

Penelope cocked her head. "What are you gonna do with it now?"

"I'll seal it later. When I have to remove it from somebody about twenty-or-so years from now." He waved the rift away, contained until he needed it again.

Stephen sighed, his eyes traveling around the upper perimeter of the dull hospital morgue as if he could see something more. "Did you know, Penny, memories themselves can be realities, too …?" He pressed his lips together and eyed the child. She stared right back at him, probably not understanding what the sorcerer meant.

Stephen rose to his feet. "Never mind. Let's go."

They stepped through a portal- though not without Penelope first getting a long moment to gawk at the simplistic swirling ring without the threat of a monster to interrupt her -and into the hospital room with the awaiting Nurse Amber and Penelope's grandmother, still frozen.

The child hopped in place briefly, grinning. "Wait till I tell my gran about THIS! She thinks you guys are 'diculous nonsense."

"Ridiculous," he corrected softly before halting. Stephen tipped his head. "How much do you know about me and the Avengers?"

"Lots'a stuff. I watch your movies sometimes with Daddy, but we don't tell gran." Penelope's eyes landed on the grandmother and she turned somber. "She gets fussy 'bout it."

"Not a fan of superheroes?"

Her head dropped. "She says they're not for girls."

The sorcerer blinked several times and shook his head. "That's ridiculous." Then, in a clear tone, Stephen declared, "There's nothing wrong with liking superheroes and being a girl."

The simple statement had the child before him staring as if he'd revealed some precious, never-before-uttered secret. She started to jump again, only to wince when her bandaged arm was jostled.

Stephen came forward and crouched. "How'd you break it?"

"Pretending to fly like Iron Man." She met his eyes and nodded gravely. "But I crashed."

"Better luck next time."

He carefully took the bandaged arm in one hand and looked over at the nurse and nearby paperwork describing what treatment the little girl would be needing. While he was a former surgeon, a broken arm was next to nothing … especially if he was using some of his newly learned skill.

"Do you like the Avengers, Doctor Strange?"

Stephen looked back at Penelope. She was swaying faintly, unable to keep fully still, and watching him with trusting eyes. Trust he didn't feel like breaking, but it didn't sit right with him to lie to a child.

"No," he answered slowly. "I don't think I really do."

When he thought about it, while the Avengers were constantly being recognized by the world for their heroics, and their fame skyrocketed into the upper atmosphere, Stephen Strange did just as much, if not more work when it came to preserving reality as everyone took it for granted. No one noticed him. And he'd been okay with that, thinking it was what he deserved after a lifetime of inflating his ego as a surgeon.

"I guess I am jealous of them. Everyone always seems to notice them. A lot of people like them."

"I like you."

Stephen smirking knowingly. "You like my cloak."

Still swaying, the child met his eyes. "And you. Cloak chose you, so you're special."

"Really?"

"It's in your movie."

He let that sink in before nodding slightly. "You have a good point, there."

Stephen pondered the simple assurances his young fan had given him and realized that, despite the childish way of her statements, they were still true. He had indeed pulled through much in his past and emerged as someone new, maybe even someone worthy of being called hero.

An idea flared to life in his head. His eyes briefly landed on Penelope's grandmother and the idea almost felt rebellious. But it wouldn't cause any harm. Quite the opposite.

"Tell you what," he smiled. "I have an idea. Would you like me to fix your arm?"

Penelope's eyes enlarged. "Can you do that?"

"I've got time. Literally." He gestured to his amulet and smiled. "But you already knew that."

"What do I tell Nurse Amber? And gran?"

Now he was grinning. "You tell them Doctor Strange fixed it."

* * *

He held out his hand, green rings of time unwinding around his arms before he ceased use of the amulet. The stuffy air of the garage seemed to breathe again as time resumed.

Stephen watched intently as Penny blinked from where she stood in the doorway. Her gaze landed on him and she frowned.

They stared at one another until he asked, "Any side effects?"

"Side effects?" the woman repeated, confused. "Side effects from what? Here's your water."

She extended her arm, only her hand was empty.

Stephen's gaze slowly moved to the water bottle he already held, half empty. "Yeah," he held it up. "Thanks for that."

Penny's eyes traveled around the garage suspiciously while he gestured at the open crawlspace. "There's a cat in there, somewhere, but I separated the rift from the leak. Hopefully now it can be fixed properly … the leak."

"You got the rift out?"

"Right here."

He held up another hand as the glowing rift itself reappeared. "I'll be sealing it from my side."

Penny's eyes lit up and she moved forward. Stephen dodged back.

He cleared his throat. "Look, but don't touch."

"I'd never touch that thing."

It took every muscle in his face not to open his mouth and state something rude. Penny had no idea the many hours it had taken for him to extract the rift from her physical body _and _timeline.

So he nodded. "Good idea."

The woman's stare bore through him, unrelenting.

The sorcerer tipped his head. "What is it?"

"Did you- ?" Penny shut her mouth and looked away. She paced to the other end of the garage while Stephen watched in silence.

He took a deep, slow breath, realizing what might be going on.

"When I was little … I was in the hospital this one time," Penny said, rounding on him, a hint of unease creeping into her voice, suggesting she was doubting what she was about to say.

"And I thought _for sure_ you-" She trailed off and raised an eyebrow, prompting him. " … Were you?"

The doctor quirked a faint smile. "How's the arm?"

A long pause. "It's just fine. Like it never broke. Still don't know how you did it."

"Because I'm the world's first ever doctor and sorcerer. There are some things you're not going to fully understand, whether you're seven years old or seventy."

Penny's shoulders relaxed as the truth set in. She smiled. "You know, they said I'd dreamed it, but that never explained why my arm was all better. It drove them bonkers."

"Did your grandmother have a heart attack?"

"Yeah, almost. I was blissful as could be. I never doubted you …" The woman blinked and sent him a frown. "Is that the same rift?"

Stephen chose to dodge the question. "Did you remember me when I first arrived here?"

At that, she furrowed her brow. "I don't know. Why?"

"Just curious. You didn't seem to know me earlier. I mean, from the past that was my future."

Penny's head tilted and she regarded him a long moment before grinning. "I'm still a fan, you know. And I'm not the only one."

He faltered slightly. That little conversation where he'd been vulnerable enough to share his honest, flawed feelings with a little girl had been recent for him, but years ago for her. He would have thought a child would have better remembered the battle with the parasite, or how cool his Cloak was, more so than that little snippet.

Stephen shifted his weight. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

"So … am I really a movie franchise in this reality? How far does that whole thing go?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, let's just leave it at that, then. I probably don't need to know. My ego doesn't need to know."

Penny stepped up to him and for a panicked moment he thought she would hug him.

Instead, she extended a hand. Stephen accepted with his. The handshake was slow, tightened with meaning.

"Thank you, Stephen," said Penny. "You don't know it, but you fixed a lot more than a leak and a broken arm."

The emotion he'd expected showed up briefly on Penny's face and he was reminded of the somber child who'd admitted she was discouraged by someone in her life from enjoying the very stories his life was part of.

It hit him in that moment, the full weight of what she was telling him: they were all stories here, works of heroic fiction inspiring people. More than who he had ever realized knew who he was and what he did, and they _did_ support and cheer him on. He made a difference in more ways than he could have ever imagined.

The Ancient One had been right.

Stephen carefully grasped the hand in both of his gloves. "No. Thank you."

The rift in his possession and a reality safe again, the sorcerer turned to open air in the stuffy garage and rotated a hand, engaging the use of his sling ring. The portal that appeared was no longer blurry, and he could see straight into the New York sanctum. He waited for Penny to come closer and peer through for a glimpse of his reality, the sanctum's front entry hall. Her eyes widened with the same awe her seven year old counterpart had had before.

Stephen stepped over the portal's threshold and turned. Penny beamed and waved. He raised an arm, the Cloak lifting its edge as well, in farewell.

Stephen smiled and nodded before shutting the portal between realities and letting out a long sigh, finally relaxing now that all was right and well. For now. Until the next mishap showed up and messed around with his simple request to order a ham and cheese on rye.

"First thing's first."

He held up his hand and the rift materialized. Stephen concentrated, and moments later the rift ceased to glow and turned into ash.

"There. Another crisis contained."

In minutes he'd returned to the deli, no longer adorned in cult-like robes and a eye-catching scarlet cloak, opting for pants and a navy blue jacket.

He spotted Christine sitting where he'd left her. The woman lifted her head at his arrival. She raised a slender brow. "I thought you were going to order something."

Just for reassurance, Stephen's head turned, taking in the calmness of the deli, the people walking past outside, the traffic. All moving normally.

His vow lowered. "Everything good here?"

"Yeah, _of course._"

There was a hint of exasperation in the nurse's voice. She set her arms against the table and gave him a pointed look.

"Stephen, relax. It's just an ordinary day, remember? We agreed."

"I know. I know."

He slid into a chair at the little table, an apologetic smirk slowly spreading across his face.

"But what if I told it it wasn't quite as ordinary as you think?"

Christine's head drooped over the table. She groaned before taking in a sharp breath and sitting upright again.

"Fine."

Despite the defeat in her voice, the flicker of acceptance, maybe even curiosity in her eyes was all the permission he needed to start telling his latest story.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_**: As much as I hope to portray Doctor Strange's movie version as well as possible, I admit I'm not an expert on him or the Marvel comics, so please pardon any inaccuracies. It is a fanfic, after all. I had a lot of fun with this story.**

**I was inspired by an actual leak, and maybe even some **_**Doctor Who / Stranger Things**_**. I don't care what Marvel's **_**Endgame**_** has to say about time travel either, at least where this story is concerned. Blame it on watching _Back to the Future_ too much. ;)**


End file.
